Apparatus for drying fabrics or the like



Mar 7 1950 E. K. CLARK 2,500,062

APPARATUS FOR DRYING FABRICS 0R 'IHE LIKE Filed April 1, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [I L/JZ INVENTOR K ijwh ATTORNEY Much 19.50 E. K. QLARK 2500 962 APPARATUS FOR DRYING FABRICS OR THE LIKE Filed April 1, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR DRYING FABRICS OR THE LIKE Application April 1, 1947, Serial No. 738,713

3 Claims. 1

My invention relates to apparatus for dryin fabrics and the like and has for an object to provide improved apparatus of this kind.

A further object of my invention is to provide. in a dryer of the type set forth, provisions for drying the material with or without tumbling, depending on the character of the material being treated. 3

These and other objects are eflected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part o1 this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a domestic clothes dryer constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention, portions of the casing being broken away to show the driving mechanism for the basket of the dryer;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken along the line II--II of Fig. 1 with portions broken away for clearness;

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged views of the basket drive mechanisms shown, respectively, in Figs. 2 and 1; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing portions of the drive mechanism in a difierent or inactive position.

Reference will now be had to the drawings wherein I have elected to disclose my invention applied to a domestic clothes dryer generally of the type disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Francis J. Broglie, Serial No. 555,- 959, filed September 27, 1944, now Patent Number 2,424,737. In this form of dryer, the drying and air translating mechanism is enclosed in a housing l0 having a front wall I I, the upper portion of which is inclined rearwardly' and upwardly as shown at I2. The housing includes a top wall I3, side walls It and a rear wall IS. The inclined front wall portion I2 is provided with an access opening I6 which communicates with a chute structure I1, the latter directing fabrics dropped through the opening I6 to the interior of a rotatable basket structure, generally indicated at I8 and arranged within the housing Ill. The access opening I6 is closed by a suitable door or cover l9 which may be hinged in any well-understood manner to the front wall I I.

The basket I8 is rotatable about a generally horizontal axis within a drying chamber 2|, the

2 latter being enclosed within a. casing having a generally cylindrical side wall 22 and a front wall 23 which is joined to the inner end of the chute I1 in any well-understood manner. The cylindrical side wall 22 preferably extends to the rear wall I5 and is joined thereto.

The basket I8 includes a rear wall 24 having a stub shaft 25 fixed thereto, the latter being journaled in a bearing 26 hinged, as shown at 21, to the rear wall I5; the construction and arrangement being such that the hearing may rock through a limited range of movement in a generally vertical plane. Since the rockable bearing structure per se which I have just described forms no part of the present invention, further description of the same is deemed unnecessary. A bearing of this type is disclosed and claimed in connection with a dryer in the copending application of William A Johnston, Serial No. 689,657, filed August 10, 1946.

The basket I8 also includes a cylindrical side wall 28 which is perforate, substantially, throughout its extent, a few of the perforations being indicated at 29. The basket I8 is also provided with a plurality of radially, inwardly-extending vanes or ballles 3I for tumbling the fabrics during rotation of the basket I8. The basket is further provided with a relatively large access opening 32 which communicates with the inner end of the chute II.

Air for drying the clothes is translated to the drying chamber 2I by a rotatable fan rotor 33 which is driven by an electric motor 34 suitably supported in the bottom of the housing I0. The fan rotor 33 translates air through a duct 35, one end of which is shaped to form a fan casing 36, the opposite end of the duct communicating with an opening 31 formed in the cylindrical side wall 22. Air heating means of any well-understood construction is provided within the duct 35 for heating the air translated therethrough. For example, I have diagrammatically shown at 38 an electric heater for this purpose. The air translated by the fan 33 is drawn into the fan casing 36 through an opening 39 which communicates with the interior of the casing I0. Air from the ambient atmosphere enters the housing I3 through a suitable opening 4| shown, for example, in the back wall I5 of the housing (see Figure 2).

Rotation of the basket is effected by a friction drive mechanism of the type disclosed and claimed in the aforementioned application of William A. Johnston and including an endless belt 42 which engages an arcuate portion of the underside of a driving band 40 carried on the exterior of the basket 26 at the front end thereof (see Figure 2). The belt extends between an idler pulley 43 suitably journalled within the housing iii in any well-understood manner and a driving belt pulley 44. The belt 42 defines the support for the front end of the basket l8 which, as best shown in Figure 1, is saddled in the belt 42 intermediate the pulleys 43 and 44.

As best shown in the enlarged views Figs. 3 to 5, inclusive, the belt pulley 44 is driven by a jackshaft 45, the latter being journaled in a suitable bearing 46. The jackshaft 45 carries a friction wheel 41 at its opposite end engageable with a smaller friction wheel 48 driven by the electric motor 34. The bearing 46 is supported by alever 48 which is pivoted, as shown at i, to a bracket 52 carried by the frame of the electric motor 34. The drive mechanism described up to now is the invention of William A. Johnston and is described and claimed in his aforementioned copending application, Serial No. 689,657. Generally speaking, the purpose of this drive mechanism is to provide good driving contact between the belt 42 and the driving band 40 regardless of any eccentricity of the latter. In this connection, if the driving band 40 is slightly eccentric, rocking movement of the basket in a vertical plane is afforded by the pivoted bearing 26.

During operation of the dryer, the motor 34 operates to rotate the basket I8 at a relatively low speed of, for example, 50 R. P. M. to tumble the fabrics within the basket. The fan rotor 33 translates air through the duct 35 wherein it is heated, the heated air then passing through the opening 31 to the drying chamber 2 I. The heated ir passes through the numerous perforations 28 and contacts the tumbling fabrics for the extraction of moisture therefrom. The moistened air is discharged from the drying chamber 2! through a suitable duct 53 (Fig. l) to the ambient atmosphere.

It is frequently necessary to dry articles in a domestic dryer, which should not or cannot be tumbled, such as, for example, canvas shoes or gloves which are drawn upon a drying form. In accordance with my invention, means readily accessible to theoperator is provided for terminating the rotation of the basket i8 while permitting the motor and the fan to operate for the circulation of heated air through the stationary basket l8. The mechanism which I provide for controlling rotation of the basket i8 operates to raise the jackshaft 45 sufficiently to disengage the friction wheels 41 and 48 when rotation of the basket is to be terminated. This operation, of course, raises the front end of the basket l8 slightly, which movement is permitted by the pivoted journal bearing supporting the rear end of the basket. Upward movement of the jackshaft 45 and its bearing 46 about the pivot 5i is effected by depressing an arm 54 which is fixed to the lever 49. A projection 55 is aligned with the movable arm 54 and is fixed to the bracket 52. Intermediate the arm 54 and projection 55 is a frusto-conical wedge 56 which is manually actuated by a rod 51 having handle 58 secured thereto exteriorly of the front wall ii of the housing i0. During periods of operation when the basket i8 is rotated, the wedge 56 is in the position shown in Figures 3 and 4 wherein contact is maintained between the friction wheels 41 and 46. In order to terminate operation of the basket, the handle 56 is drawn outwardly to enter the wedge 56 between the arm 54 and projection 55. This operation forces the arm 54 downwardly and the lever 49 upwardly to disengage the friction wheels 41 and 46. This position of the apparatus is shown in Figure 5. In order to properly position the wedge 56 with respect to the arm 54 and projection 55, a supporting lever 58 is provided, the latter being loosely or pivotally mounted on the pivot 5| at one end and provided with an opening at its opposite end within which opening, the rod 51 is slidably supported. The front end of the rod 51 may be slidably supported by the front wall il in any well-understood manner.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have provided an improved dryer -for fabrics or the like wherein drying may be carried out with or without tumbling, depending upon the nature of the material being treated. These methods of operation may be selectively carried out, at the will of the operator, by the actuation of a single handle.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for drying fabrics or the like, the combination of a basket for containing the fabrics and rotatable about a generally horizontal axis for tumbling the fabrics, a fan for translating air through the basket to abstract moisture from the fabrics during all periods of operation of the fan, a motor connected to said fan, a circular driving band carried by the basket, a frictional transmission intermediate said band and the motor for rotating the basket, said transmission including a friction pulley driven by the motor, a jackshaft, a friction wheel carried by the jackshaft and engageable with said pulley, friction means driven by the jackshaft and engaging said band, a bearing supporting the jackshaft means for supporting the bearing and providing for movement thereof to an inactive position wherein said wheel is disengaged from the first pulley to terminate rotation of the basket, a member engaging said bearing for actuating the latter to its inactive position and a manually-actuated handle for operating said actuating member.

2. In apparatus for drying fabrics or the like. the combination of a basket for containing the fabrics and rotatable about a generally horizontal axis for tumbling the fabrics, a fan for translating air through the basket to abstract moisture from the fabrics during all periods of operation of the fan, a motor connected to said fan, a cir'- cular driving band carried by the basket, a frictional transmission intermediate said band and the motor for rotating the basket, said transmission including a friction pulley driven by the motor, a jackshaft, a friction wheel carried by .the jackshaft and engageable with said pulley, a belt pulley driven by the jackshaft, a belt driven by the belt pulley and engaging said band, a hearing supporting the jackshaft, means pivotally supporting the bearing and providing for movement thereof to an inactive position wherein said wheel is disengaged from the first pulley to terminate rotation of the basket, a wedging mechanism engaging the bearing for actuating the latter to its inactive position andmanually-actuated means for operating said wedging mechanism.

3. In apparatus for drying fabrics or the like, the combination of a basket for containing the fabrics and rotatable about a generally horizontal axis for tumbling the fabrics, a fan for translating air through the basket to abstract moisture from the fabrics during all periods of operation of the fan, a motor connected to said fan, a circular driving band carried by the basket, a frictional transmission intermediate said band and the motor for rotating the basket, said transmission including a friction pulley driven by the motor, a. jackshaft, a. friction wheel carried by the jackshaft and engageable with said pulley, a belt pulley driven by the jackshaft and disposed adjacent the lower portion of the driving band, arr idlerypulley spaced from said second pulley anti lajrranged adjacent the lower portion of the driving band, an endless belt carried by said belt pulley and the idler pulley and engaging the lower portion of the driving band, a bearing for supporting the basket, means for pivotally support-,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 158,821 Young Jan. 19, 1875 2,389,433

Hough Nov. 20, 1945 

